For humans, monogamy is not biologically ordained. According to evolutionary psychologist David M. Buss of the University of Texas at Austin, humans are in general innately inclined toward nonmonogamy. But, Buss argues, promiscuity is not a universal phenomenon; lifelong relationships can and do work for many people.
In Brief. Even in societies where polygamy is permitted, monogamy is by far the most common human mating arrangement. In this regard, we are unusual animals: fewer than 10 percent of mammals form exclusive sexual relationships.
Balance of evidence indicates we are biologically inclined towards monogamy. Science has yet to definitively pronounce on whether humans are naturally monogamous (lifelong male-female breeding pair) or polygamous (single male breeding with more than one female).
Across human societies today, monogamous, polyandrous, polygynous, and short-term mating patterns are present, with most societies exhibiting multiple types of marriages and mating relationships.
It's what normally comes to mind when you think of traditional romantic relationships, but it is by no means the only type of relationship out there. Many people are not fulfilled in monogamous relationships, and instead pursue other less conventional relationship styles, like polyamory or throuples.
Evolution dictates that genes have the final say. And if there is one thing genes want, it is to spread as far and wide as possible. That is why monogamy is rare among mammals. Females have to wait for a long gestation period to have a child, where as males could go and inseminate many other females in that time.
In essence, men are only socially monogamous rather than genetically monogamous.
As time passed, primates as a whole became more social and evolved to live together in groups, but only humans became truly monogamous. Today, other primate species such as bonobos and chimps mate with multiple individuals in their groups.
If we mean realistic for the species of humans, then the answer clearly is yes. In various cultures around the world people are able to engage in lifelong monogamous relationships.
John Gill comments on 1 Corinthians 7 and states that polygamy is unlawful; and that one man is to have but one wife, and to keep to her; and that one woman is to have but one husband, and to keep to him and the wife only has a power over the husband's body, a right to it, and may claim the use of it: this power over ...
More recent field research on a large Canadian sample also found that those in open or polyamorous relationships were just as happy as those in monogamous relationships. The Rubel and Bogaert review reports that most non-monogamous people are just as or more sexually satisfied than monogamists.
We are termed 'socially monogamous' by biologists, which means that we usually live as couples, but the relationships aren't permanent and some sex occurs outside the relationship. There are three main explanations for why social monogamy evolved in humans, and biologists are still arguing which is the most important.
New DNA research has unexpectedly revealed that they were even more promiscuous than we thought. New DNA research has unexpectedly revealed that they were even more promiscuous than we thought.
“The human mating system is extremely flexible,” Bernard Chapais of the University of Montreal wrote in a recent review in Evolutionary Anthropology. Only 17 percent of human cultures are strictly monogamous.
More companionship, higher income, and ongoing sexual variety are often cited as advantages of polygamous or polyamorous relationships.
Just like you can be committed to multiple friendships, you can be committed to multiple romantic relationships as well — and there's nothing wrong with being single, whether you identify as monogamous or not!
Of course, monogamous relationships will continue to occur, probably for as long as there are humans. There's no reason to believe they'll ever disappear entirely, but there is reason to believe they won't be the only accepted model of relationship anymore.
A litany of studies have shown that people believe monogamous relationships are inherently more trusting, committed, passionate and sexually satisfying and less likely to involve jealousy than other types of relationships. Some people even went so far as to say that monogamy cures jealousy.
Recent discoveries have led biologists to talk about the three varieties of monogamy: social monogamy, sexual monogamy, and genetic monogamy. The distinction between these three are important to the modern understanding of monogamy.
Could we mate with other animals today? Probably not. Ethical considerations preclude definitive research on the subject, but it's safe to say that human DNA has become so different from that of other animals that interbreeding would likely be impossible.
Through longitudinal evidence, our results show that pair bonding and T in men are linked in more of a trait fashion, yet also provide preliminary evidence for bidirectional associations.
Polygyny offers husbands the benefit of allowing them to have more children, may provide them with a larger number of productive workers (where workers are family), and allows them to establish politically useful ties with a greater number of kin groups.
Only about 2% of the global population lives in polygamous households, and in the vast majority of countries, that share is under 0.5%.
Polygamy has basically been part of a rising tide of Americans' acceptance of a number of moral behaviors. This means one explanation for the increased acceptability of polygamy -- and perhaps the most plausible one -- lies with the fact that it is part of a general trend of increased liberalism on moral issues.
Both types of sexual behaviour exist in all of us. As humans, we can be monogamous and we can be promiscuous or polygamous, or anything else. Each of these behaviours has its own costs, though. And it's important to consider that the costs are often different based on whether you're a man or a woman.